It is a traffic violation in most states when a passenger in the front seat of a moving vehicle does not have his or her seat belt fastened. As used herein, “passenger” refers to any person in the front seat of the vehicle, whether on the “driver's side” or the “passenger's side.” In the majority of states (e.g., 33 states), seat belt violations are primary enforcement laws, meaning that an officer may stop and ticket a passenger for not wearing a seat belt, even when no other violations have occurred.
One current practice for enforcement involves police officers on the roadside visually examining passing vehicles to determine whether the front seat passenger has the seat belt fastened. Another practice involves a police officer or other operator examining video from a remote location to determine whether the front seat passenger has the seat belt fastened. Both of these practices, however, are expensive, difficult, and do not have a high detection rate. What is needed, therefore, is an improved system and method for detecting seat belt violations.